Bone marrow, rich in blood-forming and immune system cells, is the soft tissue that fills the spongy interiors of animal bones. Diseases of the marrow can interfere with red blood cell production, and a technique called bone marrow transplantation is used to infuse healthy bone marrow into a patient whose marrow is defective. A large needle inserted into the center of large bones harvests the donor marrow. How are the stem cells from the marrow harvest introduced into the recipient's body?More...

Though Captain James Cook was certainly not the first person to set foot on Christmas Island—the atoll had been visited by native Pacific Islanders in the past—it was uninhabited when he found it. Both the UK and US later laid claim to the atoll, and they vied for power there for the next 100 years or so, until it gained independence as part of the 33-island Republic of Kiribati and was renamed Kiritimati. Before it gained independence, the US and UK used the atoll as a testing ground for what?More...

Carson was an American frontiersman, trapper, scout, Indian agent, and soldier. He ran away from home as a teen to join an expedition to the Southwest, embarking on a lifetime of adventure that earned him an almost mythical status in the annals of the American West. Much to his dismay, fictionalized versions of his daring exploits were published in a series of popular novels. He was haunted by the knowledge that a lady who had been kidnapped and killed had had such a book in her possession. Why?More...

Located only a few miles from Jerusalem, Bethlehem is known as the birthplace of Jesus and has long been regarded as a holy place by Christians. A church was eventually built on the site, and the crypt beneath it, known as the Grotto of the Nativity, is reputed to be the site of the original manger. A Roman Catholic mass is held there at midnight on Christmas Eve, and pilgrims from all over the world attend. The highlight of the service occurs when a carved wooden figure of the Christ Child is laid in a manger in the Grotto of the Nativity. More...

A troublesome thigh bone might trip up the timeline of human evolution. According to research published recently in PLOS ONE, a femur found in Southwest China could mean that a species of early human — one from a lineage other than the one that ...More...

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